I like it FLAT! When I'm Riding.

Here's a big thank you to the one who controls the weather!.
All week I listened to Eric (and last night, Rachel) tell us it was going to be raining and windy for today's Tour De Cure to benefit the American Diabetes Association. When riding buddy Jeff picked me up I was glad I brought a jacket. But by the time we were unloading our bikes I had dumped the jacket and had the long sleeved jersey. It was a little windy but the sky cleared for a great ride.


Jeff getting ready. He wouldn't turn around.

I opted for the 50k (31-mile) version. (The ambitious cyclists, like Greg Kerr, went on the 100-miler. And then there was the middle route that was 100-k or 62 miles)


Start Line

I just like this photo of my bike.

Alongside Jeff. You can't see his bike but it's sweeeeeet!


Riding a bike at 20 miles an hour and turning around to take a photo can be a challenge!

We got in a couple good groups and were moving along at a good clip. I don't know the roads in Winston-Salem well enough to document them, but we went straight, we turned left, right, and went straight again. (Know where we were?. Me neither!) There were times when we had the line of four of us doing about 25-27 miles an hour. Yes, it was flat... (or maybe even a little downhill) but it felt great. Then the hills. I'm very fast.... downhill. I've come to the conclusion that I have a bike designed for the downhills. It's not very fast going up the other side though.

As we took one more of those right turns we were back at Bethabara Park. We had only gone about 20 miles so we should have had another 11. We stopped to look at the map to see where we needed to go and as soon as we got back on the bike to start I heard a BANG!. I looked back at Jeff and his face showed it all. He blew out his front tire. On what, we don't know. But that ended our day. Lucky for us we were just a few yards from the car. If you're going to have a flat.. that's where to have it.

Flat!!!!

Overall... A very good Tour De Cure. I will do it again next year. And then I'll challenge myself to the 100-k. Especially if it's flat. I mean the course.